Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, introduced a brand-new bill on Tuesday that would put a national ban on abortion after fifteen weeks of pregnancy, marking the legislation as the first effort of its kind in the Senate since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court back in June.
Graham stated that his bill is called the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children From Late-Term Abortions Act,” and would produce abortion restrictions here in the United States that are in line with many countries around the world who have introduced similar laws. The senator also believes this bill would lend a helping hand for Republicans in the midterm elections.
“I see this as a responsible alternative to the very radical position by Democratic senators,” Graham went on to say to Fox News in a statement. “I can assure that a vast majority of Americans do not support abortion on demand up to delivery.”
“This bill puts us in line with the rest of the world, so when you’re on the campaign trail you have a chance to talk about what you’re for,” he added, according to TheBlaze.
The report revealed that “Graham’s bill contains exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother. It would impose a criminal penalty of up to five years in prison for physicians who perform abortions, but it explicitly prohibits women who seek an abortion from being prosecuted.”
Graham had previously introduced a bill that would have made it illegal to have an abortion after 20 weeks, but those bills never managed to gain enough support in the Senate to get around the filibuster. The South Carolina Republican has acknowledged that this latest effort will probably not be able to meet the 60-vote threshold that is required, also noting it might not even come up for a vote as long as the Democratic Party is in control of the Senate.
“If the Democrats are in charge, I don’t know if we’ll ever have a vote on our bill,” Graham remarked.
Democrats put out a bunch of statements repudiating the proposal, going on to insist pushing the same old narrative line that these restrictions are unpopular and would inevitably take away women’s rights.
“Today, Senator Graham introduced a national ban on abortion which would strip away women’s rights in all 50 states. This bill is wildly out of step with what Americans believe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre went on to say in a statement of her own.
“While President Biden and Vice President Harris are focused on the historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy – and to take unprecedented action to address climate change – Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions of women,” Jean-Pierre added, going on to contrast Graham’s bill with Democratic-led efforts to codify Roe v. Wade.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calls Senator Lindsey Graham’s abortion bill “wildly out of step with what Americans believe.” pic.twitter.com/CqZSE4MnpA
— Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) September 13, 2022
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, tossed the “extreme” label on the proposal.
“The nationwide abortion ban proposal put forth today is the latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans’ intent to criminalize women’s health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care,” she responded in a statement. “Make no mistake: if Republicans get the chance, they will work to pass laws even more draconian than this bill – just like the bans they have enacted in states like Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.”
How cute! Pelosi is copying after President Joe Biden by referring to anyone who dares to not be part of her political party and buy into her values an extreme MAGA Republican. So adorable.
Here’s more from TheBlaze report:
Democrats in recent weeks have gone on the offensive on abortion, attempting to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court’s abortion decision and paint Republicans as anti-abortion extremists. Several GOP candidates have responded by removing hard-line pro-life stances from their websites and campaign materials and moderating their positions. But other Republicans have countered that the Democratic position of abortion on demand with no limits is equally extreme and out of touch with most Americans.
An AP-NORC poll taken in July found that most Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court’s decision and want abortion legal in the first trimester, but also that they favor some abortion restrictions as the baby develops.
Fifty-three percent of survey respondents said they somewhat or strongly disapprove of the high court’s abortion ruling, while 30% approved. While about two-thirds of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases throughout the first trimester, only 42% say it should be legal in the second trimester, and just 24% think abortion should be legal in the third trimester.
Close to half of the individuals who responded to the survey went on to say that states should continue to allow abortions through the 15-week period, which does make Graham’s proposal on the controversial side, but is not by any stretch of the imagination, extreme.
At the end of the day, it’s critical that we take action to conserve the right of the unborn and not allow abortion to hinder our efforts to shut down these baby murder mills. If this legislation helps achieve that end goal, it’s a good course of action.